What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our November 2022 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.

November 2022 Selection

The Julie Campiche Quartet is an avant-garde jazz formation, with a lead harpist. This Switzerland-based quartet effectively managed to find their voice with this second release, focusing on what had already nicely emerged on their debut album Onkalo (Meta Records, 2020)—a creative, experimental path, developing “their musical structures and harmonics more and more complex.” The result is as entertaining as it is dazzling:

“This quartet composed of Swiss musicians of the new generation proposes music where the electronic effects of each instrument are intertwined in delicate yet powerful acoustic space, balancing structured passages with open improvisations. This uncluttered ‘electro-acoustical’ experience leaves room and scope for a wide range of exciting possibilities.”
–Juliecampiche.com

Julie Campiche: harp; Leo Fumagalli: saxophone; Manu Hagmann: double bass; Clemens Kuratle: drums
Release date November 4, 2022

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Over the last few months, Stephen Gauci, the New York-based saxophonist, has released an impressive number of live recordings with the mission to “nurture, document, and present to the world Brooklyn’s incredibly diverse, multi-generational, ground-breaking improvised-music scene.”

The next set of releases is named Live at Scholes Street Studio. The guests are all amazing: Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey for the first November release, plus Matt Mitchell, Eivind Opsvik, and Billy Mintz or Santiago Leibson, William Parker, and Tyshawn Sorey for two releases planned in December.

Yet, we totally fell for this one with Matthew Shipp, William Parker, and Francisco Mela, in which the quartet creates perfectly mastered chaos. It contains only two tracks (33 and five minutes, respectively), but it is breathtaking music that does far more than “document” or “present music to the world;” it contributes to its excellence.

Stephen Gauci: saxophone; Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Francisco Mela: drums
Release date November 4, 2022

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Dedication is the fourth release by the Dan Weiss trio during the last 22 years. It says something about the bonds they must have created but also about the necessity of the space they must have recognized, and this emerges positively all through the album. The music is tight but clear, and with the addition of incredible structure and fierce creativity, once you have it on, it becomes impossible to pause.

“I like to think of myself as someone who is coming out of the tradition but trying to push it forward,” Weiss explains. “So the piano trio is ideal because it’s such a traditional setting, but it allows for so much exploration and freedom. And when you share a long history like I have with Jacob and Thomas, you explore things together, you hit on things together, you try things out together, so the seeds of what we’re doing now were planted 20 years ago and have continued to develop since then. It feels natural to always come back to it.”
–Dan Weiss

Dan Weiss: drums; Jacob Sacks: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass
Release date November 11, 2022

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More Touch is the second album by Patricia Brennan, following the stunning Maquishti, which was released in January 2021. This time, Patricia Brennan is not playing solo anymore, as she has put together an original quartet built around percussion. With herself on vibraphone and marimba, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Mauricio Herrera on miscellaneous percussion, the album keeps delivering hypnotic and obsessive music, and it is rounded out with Kim Cass on the bass, which makes sure it keeps the swing throughout all ten tracks.

We can be sure that this new record will get as much well-deserved attention as its predecessor since Patricia Brennan has again managed to create music as innovative as it is gripping.

“This quartet record, represents a process of inner search, backwards to my roots in Veracruz, Mexico and forwards into my future. A music of fluidity, flexibility, precision, and density. And above all, a music rich in imagined imagery.”
–Patrica Brennan

Patricia Brennan: vibraphone with electronics, marimba; Marcus Gilmore: drums; Mauricio Herrera: percussion; Kim Cass: bass
Release date November 18, 2022

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Un Cacho de Metal, Un Resto de Vaivén translates to “a chunk of metal, a remnant of swaying.” This is a very well-matched title for this release. It first triggers your attention, makes you think of some kind of jazz-noise-trash music, and then surprises you with its poetic side, which is far more minimalist than punk. It blends acoustic and electric sounds in a free-jazz form, yet it is accessible—and even relaxing and meditative to listen to.

This is the first release by the trio as Nichunimu, but here are the musicians’ Discogs links, where you can further explore their previous releases: Benjamin Vergara, Nicolás Carrasco, and Matías Mardones.

Benjamin Vergara: trumpet; Nicolás Carrasco: synthesizer, radio; Matías Mardones: percussion
Release date November 18, 2022

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Amazing artists for an amazing release! The energy that emanates from this album is truly one of a kind, and to make things even better, Chad Fowler’s record label, Mahakala Music, also released a video documenting the recording of “Sentient Sentiment”:

“This record documents our second full day together, presented in order. From soulful balladry to demented rock music to an otherworldly march, the musical tension is palpable throughout. As is, I think, the pure joy of creation that animated our time together.”
–Chad Fowler

Chad Fowler: stritch, saxello; Zoh Amba: tenor saxophone, flute; Ivo Perelman: tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Steve Hirsh: drums
Release date November 18, 2022

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There is something unique and appealing about this quintet. Is it coming from a mix of cultures and nationalities? Or is it that the quintet—which has been together since 2017 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands—offers a different perspective on jazz? In any case, this third release delivers warm, cohesive music, set to a perfect rhythm by its leader:

If you want to dig Page I and II, then you can listen to them directly on Spotify:

• Sun-Mi Hong Quintet – First Page
• Sun-Mi Hong Quintet – Second Page: A Self-Strewn Portrait

“One of the leading up-and-coming talents from the vibrant Amsterdam scene, Sun-Mi has built a formidable reputation for her creativity and energy. Recent accolades include winner of the SENA Dutch Jazz Competition 2018 and Edison Award Winner 2021 in the National category for her last album A Self-Strewn Portrait (ZenneZ Records).”
–Edition Records

Sun-Mi Hong: drums; Alistair Payne: trumpet; Chaerin Im: piano; Nicolò Ricci: tenor saxophone; Alessandro Fongaro: double bass
Release date November 18, 2022

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Esbjörn Svensson is the E. and the S. in the one of a kind trio that was e.s.t. The group has for more than a decade revigorated the trio format and got with From Gagarin’s Point Of View an international breakthrough that gave them a deserved success.

HOME.S. is the only solo recording by Esbjörn Svensson. The songs were played and recorded, all alone, by Esbjörn Svensson just a few weeks before his sudden death on June 14, 2008; he was 44-year-old. The material stood untouched until 2018: it was the necessary time for his widow to accept exploring the materials left on his computer. We can only imagine how stunned and touched Eva Svensson must have been when the music unfolded for her. The 9 tracks are described on ACT as “heartfelt, soulful, and deeply personal”. We listened to the whole album, it is simply beautiful.

Esbjörn Svensson: piano
Release date November 18, 2022

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Jazz November 2022 – New Records Selection

• Julie Campiche Quartet – You Matter (Enja & Yellowbird Records)
• Stephen Gauci, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Francisco Mela – Live at Scholes Street Studio (Gaucimusic Recordings)
• Dan Weiss Trio – Dedication (Cygnus Recordings)
• Patricia Brennan – More Touch (Pyroclastic Records)
• Nichunimu – Un Cacho de Metal, Un Resto de Vaivén (577 Records)
• Chad Fowler, Ivo Perelman, Zoh Amba, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Steve Hirsh – Alien Skin (Mahakala Music)
• Sun-Mi Hong – Third Page: Resonance (Edition Records)
• Esbjörn Svensson – HOME.S. (ACT Music)
• …

Next, discover the selection of our Best Jazz Albums 2022 (so far).

Playlist

Listen to these tracks on our Spotify playlist ↗, “Best Jazz 2022”.

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